Method of driving composite piles



I pril 10, 1928.

' E',665,228 H. R. SMITH I METHOD OF DRIVING COMPOSITE FILES Filed March 1926 N. A). 5 m

2 Sheets-Sheet l V April w, 192%., 3,66%,228

H. R. SMITH METHOD OF DRIVING COMPOSITE FILES Filed March 0. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 1c, 1928.

umrau stares;

PATENT QFFIGE HERMAN n. smrrnz, or nouenasron, NEW YORK, Assrenon ro RAYMOND, CONCRETE 21m comranx, on nnwroax, ,n: Y., A. conroaarron on NEW JERSEY,

METHOD OF DRIVING COMPOSITE FILES.

Application filed March 30, 1926. Serial No. 98,441.

This invention covers an improved method and apparatus for driving.compositepiles.

A composite pile, as usually erected, comprises a wooden pile driven below the earth 5 surface or water level, upon which is superthe usual practice is to first form a tenon' 1 on the head of a wooden pile, and the drive the pile until its head is atfpr nee 1: the ground level, then place upon the head of the wooden ile the core and shell of the concrete sha t, then drive the wooden pile,

core and shell to the required depth, then remove the core, and finally fill the shell with concrete to form the completed structure. v v

The driving of the piles is generallfy done with a pile driver including a pair 0- vert cal guides or leads. Between .the leads 13 mounted the driving hammer, controlled by suitable hoisting tackle. The whole driver structure usually rests on rollers supported by timbers laid on the surface of the ground.

After the driving of a pile is completed-the entire machine is moved on the rollers into position to drive the next ile.

The driving of the woo en plles s a comparatively simple operation,"1t being only necessary t fit the pile with adri-vln cap to avoid amaging the u pile, and then drive the pi e.

However, the driving of the upper POItlOII of the composite structure is a more diflicult and involved operation. a The heavy core must be constantly'handled,- together with the shells which are ultimately left in the ground to form the concrete portion of the pile. After the core'and shell have reached the desired depth the core is raised from the shell by ca les attached to the hammer and is held suspended in the air between the leads while the shell for the next pile 1s fitted to it.

If it were desired to drive a between the driving of two concrete shafts or columns it would be necessary to first lay down the core so as to free the hammer for the driving operation on the wooden pile,

per end 0 the wooden pile andthen pick up the core again for the driving of the concrete shaft;

Composite piles of ordinary length are driven in one operation, that is, the core is mounted on the wood pile and they are drlven together. When the length exceeds a certain figure, however, it is not'practical on account'of head room required, to drive the complete pile in one operation. For. such situations the apparatus and ms method of the present invention have been" worked out.

On account ofthe difiiculty of handlin the core, 11: has been impractical, wit methods and machinery now in use, to complete each composite structure in one series of operations. Instead, it has been customary to first drive a number of wooden piles v in the area conveniently reached during one run of the driver, then pick up the core and go back over the same run a sec- 0nd time, drivingthe wooden piles further with cores and shells, superimposed.

The objections to the above method are many. In some grounds the wood pile "sets very quickly and is very diiiicult to drlve if not followed down promptly. Under such conditions only a few wooden piles can be driven before going back and tear down and rebuild the runs.

, Another objection to the ordinary method is found in rainy weather, for if some wood piles are driven and then work has to be suspended until the next day on account of rain, the wood piles alread driven will be mo set so hard as to offer un ue resistance in following them down with their cores.

In composite pile work it is usually desirable to get the top of the wood pile just 1 below permanent water level, making the concrete tops the same length. When the piles are driven to a hard strata which is sloping, wood piles of difierent lengths are required. The exact slope or conformation of the hard strata is generally unknown, no

apart it becomes necessary to drive only 4 one or two piles before following down in order to learn what length of wood pile is required. The length of the concrete portion of the pile is imited by the length of the core, and if too many wood piles are driven before following down it may be found that some wood piles are too short to reach bottom with the available length of core.

All the above disadvantages are overcome by my improved apparatus and method, which in its preferred form, comprises adriver equipped with two hammers suitably guided and arranged so that one hammer is always available for driving wood piles, without first laying down the core, and one hammer is always available for placing and driving the core, without first having to pick up thecore.

The use of my apparatus permits the driving of a wood pile followed immediately by the placing and driving of the core, thereby avoiding much handling and rehandling of the core and overcoming all the other objections enumerated above. Each pile is finished at once, so there is no opportunity for the. ground to set up; it is not necessary to go back over the ground again to follow the piles down; the concrete gang is kept busy continuously; the probable length of the pile next to be driven can be fairly accurately gauged from the length of the one just completed;'and there are no piles remaining unfinished in the eventofrain.

, In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a" front view of the apparatus while driving a wooden pile, the core being suspended from its hammen,

Fig.2 is a side view of the apparatus in Fig. 1, showin the boiler, engine, and portions of the hoisting and slewing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is the same viewas Fig. 2 after the wooden pile has been driven and its hammer raised. v

Fig. 4 is a front view of Fig. 3 after the driver has been swung to bring the core and its hammer directly above the driven woodpile, and after the core and shell have been placed on top of the wood pile preparatory to following it down.

Fi 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing t e driver in two positions on its turntable.

Referrin to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 is the turntable of t e pile driver structure, upon which is erected the tower 12 comprising the usual trussed members and vertical guides or leads 14. Between the leads 14, and guided by them for vertical movement, is the hammer 16, supported by cable 18 passing over head sheave 20 to a drum actuated by hoisting engine 22.

Fast to the side of tower 12 is the vertical lead 24 designed to guide the second hammer 26 which is supported by cable 28 passmg over head sheave 30 to another drum actuated by engine 22.

Turntable 10 rests on bedsill or base 32 rotated by cables 34 actuated by engine 22. Underneath the base are skids 36 resting on rollers 38, which in turn rest on runways 40 resting on ties 42 on the ground. 44 is the boiler supplying steam, to engine and'hammers. 46 designatesa wooden pile being driven by hammer 26. 48 designates the core on which is mounted a shell 50, both being supported from the bottom of hammer 16 in position to be placed on top of pile 46 when it has reached its proper depth (see Figs. 3 and 4) after which it will be followed down by core 48 and shell 50 driven by hammer 16. In order to align core 48 and shell 50 with pile 46, the pile driver structure is rotated slightly by turntable 10, as indicated in Fig. 5.

The wooden pile 46 is usually provided with a tenon 52 on its upper end to aid in making a proper joint with the concrete proved apparatus comprising two hammers,

either of which may be instantly aligned with the pile, enables the various operations of erecting composite piles to be carried out in very advantageous seguence, and permits the finishing of each. composite pile structure in a ractically continuous operation. It is to. e understood'that the invention is not limited to the constructions herein specifically illustrated but may be embodied in 0ther forms without departure from its sp1rit..

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for forming and driving a composite pile, in combination, a plurality of hammers and means to align any of said hammers with the ile.

2. In an apparatus for f drming and driving a composite pile, in combination, a core, a plurality of hammers, means to align any of said hammers with the pile, and means to support said core out of alignment with the p1 e. 3. In an apparatus for forming and driving a composite pile, in combination, a core, a plurality of hammers, meansto align any of said hammers with the pile, means to support said core out of ali ment with the p1le, and means to move sai core into alignment therewith.

upon which the entire pile driver may be of said hammers for operation on the pile,

means comprising one of said hammers for supporting Sal-d core out 0t allgnment with the pile, and means to move said core intoalignmentwith the pile.

5. In an apparatus for forminga composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, in combination, a structure, means carried by said structure for driving the wooden pile, a core, a shell mounted on said core, means carried by said structure for supporting said core and shell out of alignment with the wooden pile while it is being driven, and means for subsequently mounting said core and shell on the wooden pile.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5'in which means is provided for driving said core, shell and wooden pile after said core and shell are mounted on the wooden pile.

7. In an apparatus for forming a composite pile comprising a wooden pile sur mounted by a concrete colunm, in combination, a hammer for .driving'thewooden pile, a core, a shell mounted on said core, means for mounting said core and shell on the wooden pile, and a hammer for driving said core, shell and wooden pile after mounting, said last mentioned hammer serving to support said core and shell out of alignment with the woden pile while the wooden pile is being driven.

8. A method of forming and driving a composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, which comprises the provision of a movable support, a driving means, a core and a shell, driving the wooden pile while the core and shell are held by said movable support out of alignment with the wooden pile, moving said support to mount said core and shell on the wooden pile, driving the core, shell and wooden pile, removing the core by said movable support, and filling the shell with conorete. 1

9. A method of forming and driving a, composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, which comprises the provision of a'core and a support therefor, driving a wooden pile while supporting the core out of alignment therewith, moving the support to align the core with the driven pile, driving the coreand pile, and replacing the core with concrete.

10. A method of forming and driving a composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, which comprises the provision of a core and a shell, driving a pile while vertically sup porting the core and shell out of alignment,

therewith, mounting the 'core and shell on the driven pile, driving the pile further with the core and shell mounted thereon, removing the core, and filling the shell with concrete, substantially as described.

11. A method of forming and driving a composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, which comprises the provision of a core, a shell, and two hammers, driving a wooden pile with one hammer while supporting the core and shell from the second hammer, mounting the core and shell on the wooden pile, driving the core, shell and wooden pile with the second hammer, withdrawing the core from the shell and filling the shell with concrete.

12. vA method of forming and driving a composite pile including a wooden pile surmounted by a concrete column, which comprises the provision of a core, a shell, and two hammers, driving a wooden pile with one hammer while supporting the core and shell from the second hammer, moving the second hammer to mount the core and shell on the wooden pile, driving the core shell HERMAN B. SMITH. 

